Latest News

• Add My News • Search Old News

Gippsland › Latest news › Latrobe Local News

Library lovers in for a double treat with two online author talks

Marking up the Reconciliation week, with two new books from great authors.

By news@gippsland - 8th June 2021 - Back to News

Two very different authors will speak on their latest books next week as Latrobe City Libraries offer Zoom sessions with Dr Anita Heiss and Rachel Givney. Latrobe City Council Mayor, Cr Sharon Gibson said that it was a treat to welcome two such diverse writers on the library program.

Anita Marianne Heiss is an Aboriginal Australian author, poet, cultural activist and social commentator, and is an advocate for Indigenous Australian literature and literacy, through her writing for adults and children and her membership of boards and committees

Division and adversity

Cr Sharon Gibson said, "Although the subject matters vary, both novels are told from a historical perspective and immerse the reader in a different time. Both of these books shine a light on periods of division and adversity.

Book settings

Dr Heiss’ is set in Australia in the mid-19th century and draws on the power of the landscape to tell an epic love story. Ms Givney’s novel is set on the brink of the second World War and deals with family secrets and the destruction of lives through conflict," Cr Gibson said.

On Tuesday 1 June, from 6.30pm, via Zoom, Dr Heiss will be in conversation with journalist Claire Halliday about her historical novel ‘Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray’, which draws on real-life events from 1852 and features the Wiradjuri language to tell a powerful story of 'love, loss and belonging'.

Award winning author

Anita is a proud member of the Wiradjuri Nation of central New South Wales and is one of Australia's most prolific authors, with books published across many genres, including non-fiction, historical fiction, commercial fiction and children's literature.

Her memoir ‘Am I Black Enough for You?’ was a finalist in the 2012 Human Rights Awards and she was a finalist in the 2013 Australian of the Year Awards (Local Hero). As an advocate for Indigenous literacy, Anita has worked in remote communities as a role model and encouraging young Indigenous Australians to write their own stories.

Writer and filmmaker

On Thursday 3 June, from 6.30pm, via Zoom, Rachel Givney, author of romantic time slip novel, ‘Jane in Love’, will talk about her latest publication, the historical fiction novel ‘Secrets my Father Kept’. Set in Poland on the eve of the Second World War, 'Secrets My Father Kept' is the gripping story of a young woman determined to uncover the truth behind her mother’s disappearance and the dark secret from her father's past.

Rachel is a writer and filmmaker originally from Sydney, Australia (currently based in Melbourne). She has worked on Offspring, The Warriors, McLeod's Daughters, Rescue: Special Ops and All Saints.

The Anita Heiss event, to mark Reconciliation Week, is a collaboration between Latrobe City Libraries, East Gippsland Shire Libraries, West Gippsland Regional Library Corporation and Wellington Shire Libraries. Bookings are essential and can be made via Eventbrite or at your local library branch.

Rachel Givney is a writer and filmmaker, and has worked on many of Australia's most beloved and critically acclaimed shows

Pictures from Latrobe City web page.

Source: www.gippsland.com

Published by: news@gippsland.com

• East Gippsland residents invited to author talk on Pearl Bradshaw - Princess of Hotham on 10 September 2025
  Author Stephen Whiteside will present Pearl Bradshaw - Princess of Hotham, sharing remarkable stories of resilience, adventure, and history at special East Gippsland library talks on Wednesday 10 September.